The Battle of Bornos on 31 May 1812, saw a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

force led by

Francisco Ballesteros Francisco Ballesteros (1770 in Zaragoza – 29 June 1832 in Paris) emerged as a career Spanish General during the Peninsular War. Ballasteros served against the First French Republic in the 1793 War of the Pyrenees. He was dismissed from his ...

attack an Imperial French division under

Nicolas François Conroux Nicolas François Conroux, Baron de Pépinville (17 February 1770 – 11 November 1813) became a division commander during the Napoleonic Wars and was killed fighting the British in southern France. In 1786 he joined the French Royal Army and b ...

. Though the Spanish achieved surprise, the outnumbered French soldiers fought back and drove off their assailants. The Spanish suffered losses considerably higher than the French.

Bornos Bornos is a town and municipality located in the province of Cádiz, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English ...

is located on Route 342 about northeast of

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , the ...

. The battle occurred during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

, part of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

Battle

In March 1812,

General of Division Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corp ...

held the town with a division of 5,445 men in eight battalions plus attached artillery.

left

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

in early May and marched toward

. Covered by a fog, the Spanish troops attacked the town and gained an initial advantage. However, Conroux was able to rally his troops and began launching a series of counterattacks. The French troops included the 9th Light and 96th Line Infantry Regiments, the 5th

Chasseurs à Cheval ''Chasseur'' ( , ), a French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry () or light cavalry () to denote troops trained for rapid action. History This branch of the French Army origi ...

Regiment, and a squadron of the 2nd Chasseurs à Cheval. At length, Conroux was able to defeat Ballesteros, capturing 600 Spanish soldiers, four cannons, and two colors. Historian

Digby Smith Digby Smith (born 1 January 1935) is a British military historian. The son of a British career soldier, he was born in Hampshire, England, but spent several years in India and Pakistan as a child and youth. As a "boy soldier", he entered train ...

listed the French units as two battalions each of the 9th Light and 96th Line, one battalion of the 16th Light, and the 5th Chasseurs à Cheval for a total of 4,500 men. He noted that Ballesteros lost 1,500 casualties and four cannons out of a total force of 8,500 troops. This author named the battle "Cadiz" and gave a date of 1 June. David Gates wrote that the French lost about 500 casualties and agreed with Smith that Conroux's men inflicted total losses of about 1,500 on their enemies. An earlier Battle of Bornos occurred on 5 November 1811. Three French columns were unsuccessful in an attempt to trap a Spanish force led by Ballesteros. Instead, the Spanish general lashed out at one of the pursuing columns, inflicting 100 casualties and inducing an entire French-allied Spanish ''Juramentado'' battalion to change sides. Smith called this a French victory.

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References

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External links

* Battles of the Peninsular War Battles in Andalusia Battles of the Napoleonic Wars Battles involving Spain Battles involving France Conflicts in 1812 May 1812 events {{France-battle-stub